Remains of Korean War POW identified

October 18, 2008|Tribune Staff Report

The remains of an Elkhart soldier who went missing in action during the Korean War have been identified, the U.S. Department of Defense announced this week. Army Pfc. Milton Dinerboiler Jr. died in April 1951. His remains will be flown to South Bend Regional Airport on Wednesday in preparation for burial in Elkhart, which will include full military honors. Dinerboiler, a prisoner of war, died from poor health and the lack of medical treatment, and was buried beside a hill in North Korea, according to the Department of Defense. Dinerboiler was assigned to the Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, before being attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged in battle against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea from late November to early December of 1950. Dinerboiler was captured by the Chinese and marched on a route north of the Chosin Reservoir. In 2002, a joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/Missing in Action Accounting Command, recovered human remains from an isolated grave north of the Chosin Reservoir. The site correlates to a route that American POWs were taken while being moved north to a POW camp. Those interested in paying respects can do so at Walley-Mills-Zimmerman Funeral Home, 700 E. Jackson Blvd. in Elkhart, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. The remains will be moved for final services next Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 400 West Blvd., in Elkhart. Church services will be at 1:30 p.m., with burial in the Old Osceola Cemetery at the intersection of County Road 20 and Ash Road to follow.